Ice Cream Sandwich Rolling Out to Sony Xperia S

Just about six months ago, we wrote about how Sony was extremely prompt in releasing an alpha build of Ice Cream Sandwich for much of its Xperia line. Now to put this in context, this is the same company that tried to convince us that their skinned version of Android 2.1 Éclair was better than Android 2.2 Froyo, and thus an upgrade to vanilla Froyo would actually be a downgrade.

Luckily, it seems as if Sony has learned from its mistakes and is now doing its best to actively support the very customers who ultimately buy their products. Today, Sony has announced that they are rolling out Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich to the Sony Xperia S. With it, come several new applications aimed at delivering a more Sony-like media experience.

First off, we’re excited to introduce a completely new way to experience your media – your music, images, videos, movies and films – with our new “WALKMAN”, “Album” and “Movies” applications:

The “WALKMAN” application blends the best of signature Sony audio technology with social features; to discover the music your friends like and share personal favorites. Facebook integration gives you a visual way to interact with content – accessing album art, artist images and information, directly from Gracenote®

The “Album” application brings new intuitive ways to sort and browse high quality photos and videos in blazing speed, as well as providing instant viewing, commenting and sharing of photos on Facebook and other online albums, leveraging the great camera capabilities of Xperia S

The “Movies” application streamlines the playback and viewing of movies in high quality audio and video, whilst using intelligent database search to grab movie posters and information for a richer experience

And now for the software upgrade to Android version 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich– some of the cool features you can look forward to are:

Lock screen with improved functionality

Resizable widgets (improved personalization)

Improved control of your mobile data consumption

Recent Apps button for clear overview of your applications

The update will be available over-the-air, but those wishing to update a bit early can do so with the web-based Xperia Update. To begin the update, watch the video below and head over to the Sony Forums and their Mobile Blog to learn more.

About Author

Will Verduzco is the Portal Administrator for the XDA-Developers Portal. He has been addicted to mobile technology since the HTC Wizard. But starting with the Nexus One, his gadget love affair shifted to Google's little green robot. He is also a Johns Hopkins University graduate in neuroscience and is now currently studying to become a physician.

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